episode_0023

I just ran and ran.

My parents were killed by the hands of filthy humans.

Even as I ran through the forest, there was nowhere to hide.

Just a cliff in front of my eyes.

The ground below was visible, but at my current physical state, this height of a cliff would surely leave me injured.

But it can’t be helped.

Rather than being captured by those humans and ending up like my parents, it would be better to fall and die.

With that mindset, I leaped without looking back.

I managed to land using some sort of falling technique, but I couldn’t avoid severely breaking my hind legs.

Still, I’m fortunate. I saved my life.

I kept running, and ran again.

I was out of breath, and tasted blood in my mouth.

A clearing I reached. I hid behind the bushes, catching my breath.

But perhaps because I had rushed in too recklessly, or because I hadn’t properly surveyed the surroundings, I ended up being discovered by someone again.

A human approached, walked through the bushes, and found me.

My legs were now powerless, unable to run any further.

Is this the end? What are you going to do to me? Are you going to kill me like the humans who killed my parents?

I didn’t let my guard down until the end.

The human kept talking, but I lost consciousness.

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When I opened my eyes, what I witnessed was a naked fae lying on top of me, sleeping.

It felt a bit suffocating to lie like this, so I tried to move the fae, but as soon as I touched the fae, they woke up and suddenly started to be wary of me.

“Huh?! Wh-what’s… uh…?”

The fae looked around their body, checked their condition, and asked me.

“Are you… you? Did you make me like this…”

“Uh…”

Not knowing what had happened, I used Simman to check the status window.

– Name: (None)

– Race: Fox Person (High Grade)

– Age: 20

– Health: 18382/18382 (+18200)

– Strength: 1919 (+1900)

– Agility: 11009 (+10900)

– Defense: 1717 (+1700)

– Mana: 3726 (+3726)

[Owned Skills]

Unique – Blood Hunt LvMAX: Can detect the location of nearby enemies through scent. (Duration: Until canceled)

Unique – Mastery of Frost LvMAX: Can lower the temperature of the surroundings or a designated target using mana, and can directly freeze them. It is possible to cool down to minus 273 degrees Celsius.

Unique – Beast’s Eye LvMAX: Gain a rough sense of the opponent’s abilities. This varies relative to the user’s stats. This skill ignores the effects of other skills.

Legendary – Phosphorescence Lv2: Can move at a speed as fast as light. The duration is proportional to the current remaining health. Can teleport short distances by consuming mana.

Rare – Crushing Bite Lv7: Uses the jaws to attack the target. Can tear flesh with sharp teeth, or crush bones using jaw strength.

Rare – Ice Shards Lv3: Throws sharp ice fragments at the target. By providing more mana, it is possible to finely adjust the shape, size, sharpness, hardness, etc., of the ice fragments.

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{Current Thoughts}

It’s clear… this human… made me like this… But is he really human? Can there be a human that strong…?

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

The woman with the markings of a beast on her naked body turned out to be undoubtedly the wolf I rescued last night.

“But why did she turn into a monster…?”

Upon careful consideration, I realized that when I urgently treated the wolf yesterday, I hastily infused magical energy containing impurities instead of purified mana.

As a result, the weak wolf’s body transformed into a monster as it absorbed my powerful magic.

There are no humans in this world as far as I can remember.

I’ve turned wild animals into monsters right now.

“Haha… This is really something…”

I laughed a little bewilderedly.

Despite that, the beast in front of me continued to growl.

“Answer me! What did you do to me! Why am I able to take on human form and speak like a human now… Answer me…!”

Seeing that it didn’t attack recklessly, it seemed to have realized that I was someone it couldn’t bring down even if it attacked all day with its beastly eyes.

I approached the creature and calmed it down.

“Whoa, hold on. It’s a bit awkward to talk here. Your condition isn’t normal right now either.”

“What are you saying?”

“For now, let’s go into my dungeon.”

I targeted Hoin and myself and cast teleportation into the mansion of my dungeon.

“What… huh?!”

Hoin looked around in confusion at the sky-blue light appearing around him, then suddenly looked around in surprise as the scenery changed.

“What is this…”

“Well, welcome to the lowest level of the Half-Demiurge’s Palace.”

“What’s that?”

Ah, he’s originally a wild animal, so he doesn’t know anything.

“Well, I can’t help it. I’ll have to go hard from the beginning to make him understand properly, so let’s revert his body back to its original state through body modification.”

I reverted my appearance back to Lamia’s form through body modification.

Seeing me like that, Hoin was surprised and couldn’t move, frozen in place.

“Huh…”

“Human? I pretended to be human. How could a human be like me? You, just an animal living in the forest, wouldn’t understand, but I am Reyna, the creator and mother of all monsters existing in this world. And turning you into a monster was also my doing.”

“Monster… not human…?”

“A monster. Take another good look at your appearance. Where do you see anything resembling a human?”

The creature felt its own body. It still had a swaying tail with pure white fur at the end of its buttocks, and a pair of fox ears hung on its head.

And the fingernails and teeth boasted sharpness unlike those of humans.

“Just looking like a human, but you’re definitely a demon. Congratulations on becoming a demon.”

“Demon…? I still don’t really understand…”

“You are a humanoid demon called Hoin. In addition to your previous abilities, you have also acquired magic, so you can use new skills.”

I pointed at the Hoin and said,

“It’s a bit annoying to explain each and every thing. But now, can I say that she is my daughter, just like the succubus sisters? Because she has been reborn as a demon.”

“So, now that you’ve become a full-fledged demon, you are now a member of my family. You are now the youngest. The sisters will like you.”

“Family…? Sisters…?”

“Yes, sisters. I currently have two succubi, Lilith and Lucy. These two are my proud daughters. Can you make me proud too?”

“…”

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

{Current thoughts}

…Thinking about it, this person clearly saved me from dying. I was given a second chance. A second chance to continue living.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

I simply watched the Hoin in silence. She will make her own decision.

Whether to reject the opportunity given to her, or accept it. Judging by her thoughts, she seems to have accepted it already, although she hasn’t said anything yet.

After a few minutes, the Hoin, who had been hesitating, finally made up her mind and spoke while staring straight at me.

“I’ll do it… I’ll become a demon.”

“Hmm… that’s a good choice. Since you’ve accepted becoming a demon, you are now an official member of my family.”

“Is that so…?”

“Then you need a name… Hmm… what would be good…”

“A name…”

After some thought, I came up with a name that suited the hesitant Hoin.

“Well… how about Grace? Grace Haines. Haines is the surname that our demons carry.”

“Grace… Grace Haines…”

Hoin, now called Grace, wagged her tail as if satisfied.

“Alright… What should I be called…?”

“Well… Just call me ‘Mother’ like other high-ranking demons do. Don’t use too much honorifics.”

“Yes… Mother…”

Grace replied with a slightly awkward smile as she looked at me.

“It’s familiar to be called ‘mother’ by succubus twins, but ‘mom’ feels a bit new.”

And so, I gained another daughter.